Gloria Jean Weller is congratulated by Kosciusko County Republican Chairman Mike Ragan. Weller was chosen by a Republican caucus on Wednesday, Dec. 16, to replace Chad Miner, who resigned after being elected Kosciusko County Superior Court 3 judge. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

SILVER LAKE — Gloria Jean Weller is the newest member of the Silver Lake Town Council.

She was chosen by a Republican caucus on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at the Silver Lake Fire Station to finish the term of Chad Miner through the end of 2024. Miner resigned from the council after winning the election for Kosciusko County Superior Court 3 judge last month.

Weller was selected from a field of four candidates by GOP precinct committeemen. The other candidates were Linda Baker, Lynda Schuster and Ronald Greer.

After two rounds of voting, the field was narrowed down to Weller and Baker. Since there was a tie and committeemen didn’t wish to change their votes, Kosciusko County GOP Chairman Mike Ragan cast the deciding vote for Weller.

“It’s very difficult for me to be in this situation, and I don’t enjoy it,” Ragan said. “With my limited ability, of the four candidates, there’s only one that I know very well, but I’ve asked this person to serve for me at different things and she is serving as precinct committeeman and she also ran our convention in Silver Lake … So it’s my privilege to select Jean Weller as your town board member.”

Before the voting, all four candidates were allowed three minutes to speak.

“I have lived in Silver Lake my entire life,” said Weller. “I retired from the banking business a few years ago, and with that working experience, I feel would be beneficial to the town and the residents.

“Those who know me know that I am firm and I am fair,” she continued. “I am very community-minded. I have worked on several things. I’ve even worked with the fire department on different things they have going. I am a member of the Silver Lake Lions Club to which I hold the seat of secretary.

“If I am chosen, I would be open to suggestions from the community,” she continued. “I have reviewed projects that are on the agenda now and look forward to helping complete those. I would also like to help with ordinances as we have now others that may need to be updated or some new ones. I look forward to supporting our local businesses as we know we all need to get more businesses in town. It takes a team player to get things accomplished. Anyone that knows me knows I take my commitments very seriously, and I try my best to follow through as best as I can. With that being said, I would consider it an honor and a privilege to serve on town council.”

Weller told InkFreeNews she also served as the fire department’s treasurer for a year and helped run the Silver Lake Days Festival.